The Crow
Many different kinds of birds belong to the crow family-such as the raven, the rook, the jackdaw, the true Carrion crow, and one common well-known Indian crow. The ravens are large birds that generally go about in couples; the rooks, which are very common in England, live in large flocks and build nests in tall trees; the jackdaws are very clever birds that can be tamed and taught to talk, like parrots; the true carrion crow feeds, like the vulture, on dead and even rotten meat. All these birds are black, but our Indian crow has a grey head
The Indian crow is one of the commonest birds in this country, and everybody knows it well; for crows live in towns and villages and wherever people live, for the sake of the waste food that they can pick up. They are very noisy birds, and their voices are harsh and loud. The noise they make is called “cawing” because it sounds just like “caw-caw”. The Urdu name for a crow is almost the same as “Caw”-Kahwa’. copying these sounds the crow makes. In Kolkata, people often complain of being awakened up too early in the morning by the noisy cawing of the crows.
Crows are bold, cheeky birds, and very clever thieves. They sit around the house, cawing, and watching for any chance of stealing. If any waste food is thrown out, they swoop down at once and carry it off. And crows will often come right into the house to steal food.
Crows are also very cunning. If you point a stick at them, they will not move, but will caw at you as though they were laughing at you for trying to frighten them with a stick; but if you fetch a gun, they will fly off directly they see it. So they are not easy to shoot.
Crows do some good; for they clear away a lot of rubbish and rotting food, which would breed disease if it were left about.
